Some paleontologists have suggested that Apatosaurus, a huge dinosaur,

The best strategy is to read each question exactly as it is written, and then answer that question instead of worrying about question type. Let's do that for this example:

To find the conclusion drawn by the argument as a whole, it is important to understand the role of each piece of the passage:

• First, the author introduces a "suggestion" made by some paleontologists: "Apatosaurus, a huge dinosaur, was able to gallop."
• Then, the author then states his/her conclusion: "This, however, is unlikely." "This" refers back to the suggestion introduced in the first sentence.
• Next, he/she provides evidence to support this conclusion: "because galloping would probably have broken Apatosaurus’s legs." The word "because" is a good hint that this piece of the passage supports the conclusion, because it shows a causal relationship between the two bits of information.
• Finally, the author provides further information to explain how we know that the evidence (that galloping would probably have broken Apatosaurus’s legs) is correct.

With this understanding of the passage, let's go through the answer choices:

From the analysis above, we know that "galloping would probably have broken Apatosaurus’s legs" supports the author's overall conclusion. Because this answer choice does not express the conclusion of the passage, (A) is out.


This information explains how we know the provided evidence is correct. It is not the conclusion of the argument, so (B) is out.


This is more like it. The author's overall point is that the "suggestion" that "Apatosaurus, a huge dinosaur, was able to gallop" is "unlikely." This answer choice maps very nicely to the conclusion as written in the passage. (C) is our answer.


You state in your analysis that "D states something that can be inferred." We are not looking for an inference (or an assumption on which the argument depends, as might be the case here). We are looking for the answer choice that "most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn by the argument." With a clear understanding of the passage, we know that (D) does not at all state the author's conclusion. (D) is out.


Again, this might be an assumption on which the argument depends, or could be seen as a strengthener for the author's argument. Either way, it does not express the conclusion of the passage, so we can eliminate (E).

I hope that helps!